Love Island USA’s Amaya and Bryan Are Ready for Their Next Reality Show

All hail Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales, the winners of Love Island USA season seven — not to mention $100,000. Many saw the events of Sunday’s finale coming: Espinal, or “Amaya Papaya,” as she’s better known inside and now outside the villa, became the breakout star of the season not long after her introduction as a bombshell on day five. Her path to a happy and reciprocal relationship in Fiji was long and at times brutal to watch: Ace Greene immediately picked a fight over her calling him “babe”; Austin Shepard got the ick but wasn’t honest about it; Casa Amor boy Zak Srakaew seemed to care at first but turned out like all the rest, piling on Espinal for showing too much affection during the hard-to-watch Stand on Business challenge, in which Islanders aired out their grievances via anonymous and not-so-anonymous postcard messages.

During that game, a different Casa boy stood up for Espinal: Arenales, who pointed out the heavy use of terms of endearment like “babe” and “mi amor” in Hispanic households and told the others they need to “meet her halfway” if they were interested in developing a relationship. His defense immediately won over Espinal, who says she had never experienced such pushback from partners prior to coming on Love Island. In our chat a few days out from the finale, the happy couple told me about Espinal’s history of wordsmithery and the sides of Arenales we didn’t get to see. I also explained The Traitors.

What made you both do the show?
Amaya Espinal: They [production] slid into the DMs, and I had been single for about a year. I felt very strongly about my self-love and confidence. When you reach that point, that’s when you’re ready to explore and date again. When the opportunity came, I wasn’t going to let fear put me inside a cage. I’m like, Yeah, I’m all in. If I can survive NYC, Love Island has nothing on me.

Bryan Arenales: I was single for a year and ready to really look for somebody. Why not go on Love Island?

Amaya, things obviously didn’t work out between you and Zak, but initially he seemed like the first guy to really get your vibe. You had an understandably strong emotional reaction when he had no problem with you using “babe.” Have you had any issues like that in the past or encountered other guys who treated you as “too much”?
AE: Honestly, no. None of my past relationships were ever like that. That’s why, when I came to the villa and kept receiving this interaction with people, it was something I wasn’t used to. But I guess in the real dating world, when things aren’t working out, you’re quick to leave or block. In the villa, you’re trying to see if things will work out back-to-back.

As Bryan pointed out on the show, some of their ignorance came down to cultural differences. Had you ever experienced that clashing in dating before?
AE: I have never experienced much of a culture clash before. That was honestly my first. It really did take me by surprise. But I did date a lot of Latinos in the past, so maybe that’s why. [Laughs.] But I’m happy Bryan spoke up for me.
 
BA: My introduction into Casa, Elan asked about me, and I said, “I love me my Latinas.” It worked out for me.

Love Island pushes you to be extremely open all the time about how you’re feeling, more so than you might in real life. But maybe that isn’t as much the case with you both, since you seem very comfortable expressing yourselves. How did you handle it?
AE: We all did a great job at trying to be open as much as possible. Every conversation became essential. It’s like, Tell me your deepest, darkest secrets. What happened when you were 5? It was more meaningful.

BA: Maybe the guys had a harder time. We’re not talking about our emotions every day, in every other conversation. There’s definitely an adjustment period for us. At first, it takes a toll, because you’re really digging deep. But after a while, everybody got used to it.

Amaya, we got to know you earlier in the game than Bryan, so we got to understand him partially through how he appreciated you. What’s something else you like about him?
AE: A lot of people go up to Bryan for advice. He’s a great listener and has an amazing, mature perspective on a lot of situations. He also likes to check in on people to make sure they’re okay. We love that. We love a caring man.
 
Bryan, what didn’t we get to see of you?
BA: I’m not sure what was shown, but I get pretty loud sometimes. I like to scream a lot. I was known in the villa for screaming and annoying some people through my screaming. I just randomly scream.
 
AE: I remember one time, he just randomly screamed while the girls were in the fitting room. Mind you, that’s a talent. He would string out the whole chord. Olandria looked at me like, Yup, that’s your man.
 
Do you have a particular favorite Amaya quote from the show?
BA: The “sensitive gangster” one, for sure. And then the “ten toes down, not nine,” or whatever.

AE: Yeah, “not missing one toe.”

BA: Not missing one toe.  

Amaya, had you gotten attention before for the way you speak in these metaphors and one-liners?
AE: I always had a particular way to speak. When I was 14, I used to make these little videos for either Vine or Facebook of me going on rants.

Like what?
AE: I remember in high school, in the hallway, there’s always that one person who hugs you every period. [Laughs.] I was like, “Damn, how many times does this person want a hug?”

Do you think you would’ve connected in the same way at other points in your life?
BA: Boston isn’t too far from New York. If we crossed paths, I think it would’ve been the same result. I was an ugly duckling in high school, so she probably wouldn’t like me then.
 
AE: I definitely would’ve seen him and been like, Okay, I have a crush. That was my initial thought back in Casa, seeing him. He’s also very masculine in a good way. He’s the type to approach you. You probably would’ve approached me. 

Who do you hope to stay in touch with? Amaya, you’ve talked about your closeness with Huda.
AE: Huda and mostly all the girls: Chelley, Olandria, Iris. We’re all super cool and close. Nobody could really understand this experience besides us, who really lived through it. That’s something we’ll always have to relate to.
 
BA: For me, it’s Chris, Nic, and Zac. I was with them all of yesterday, pretty much.
 
Are there any other reality shows you’d be interested in appearing on?
AE: We’re going to remain open. We’re trying to digest everything and make sure our family is okay now, but we’re both very optimistic and excited for anything coming our way.

What shows are you a fan of as a viewer?
AE: I like Gossip Girl. XOXO, Gossip Girl.
 
BA: My favorite show of all time is Entourage, easily. For reality TV, I used to really like The Challenge.
 
Have either of you watched The Traitors? I feel like you’d be a great fit for that.
AE: What is the show about?
 
It’s like the game of Mafia. There are three Traitors who “murder” somebody each night.
AE: What?!
 
They get eliminated, and everyone has to figure out who the three Traitors are, basically.
AE: Oh, I thought you actually meant, like, literally. [Laughs.]